Although the State has
charged the accused of sabotage, this is
nevertheless a case of High Treason par excellence. It is a classic
case of the
intended overthrow of the government by force and violence with
military and
other assistance of foreign countries. The acts have been corroborated
by the
accused themselves. Nevertheless, for reasons which I need not here
detail, the
State has preferred to charge the accused with sabotage.... The
deceit of the accused is
amazing. Although they represented scarcely more than 1% of the
African population (a reference to the evidence that the ANC had
100,000
members), they took it upon themselves to tell the world that the
Africans in South
Africa
are suppressed, oppressed and depressed. It is tragic to think that the
accused, who between themselves did not have the courage to commit a
single act
of sabotage should nevertheless have incited their followers to acts of
sabotage
and guerrilla warfare, armed insurrection and open rebellion and
ultimately
civil war. Having
done that, they would
then from the safety and comfort of their hideouts at Rivonia,
Travellyn and
Mountainview, have surveyed the savage scene of slaughter on both sides
of the
opposing forces.... It is
a great pity that the rank and file of the Bantu in this country who
are peaceful,
law abiding, faithful and loyal should have been duped by false
promises of
free bread, free transport, free medical services and free
holidays—they forgot
to mention free holidays....This
shows how the conspirators were deluding people. Kathrada has said that
the State should be ashamed to mention Sharpeville and Langa. However,
here in
this document is evidence to show that what was supposed to be
spontaneous
uprisings were in fact engineered by the ANC and the Communist Party.
For this
reason I, on
behalf of the State, am not ashamed to speak of these events....

At
the outset of my argument I
said that this case was one of High Treason par excellence. Because of
the
people who have lost their lives and suffered injury as a result of the
activities of the accused it is apparent that this case is now one of
murder
and attempted murder as well.

I
make
bold to say that every particular allegation in the indictment has been
proved.
There is not a single material allegation in the opening address that
has not
been proved. On the evidence itis clear
that without the
action of the police, SouthAfrica might have found itself in
a bloody
civil war. The public owes a great debt of gratitude to the police.